DGreene

Hi, <BR>We're planning a 7 day trip to Costa Rica in April. We'd like to include a canopy tour, volcano touring, lite rafting, and some real pool relaxation. Interested in real nature with amenities. We have an 11 and a 13 year old. Trying to figure out where we should stay. Not too interested in staying in San Jose. Would prefer a good hotel (willing to pay the piper) with 1/2 day trips. Any suggestions? <BR>Thanks, <BR>-D

Iza

Depending on your flight schedule you will probably need to spend the first and last night of your vacation in the San Jose area. There is no need to stay in San Jose though. There are a number of hotels not far from the international airport where you can stay instead. We stayed at Xandari last year and loved it. This year we're planning to stay our first and last nights at Vista del Valle. <BR>Then I would suggest dividing your stay between two destinations (e.g. 2 days at Arenal Volcano and 3 days on the Pacific coast). Or you can stay near San Jose for a couple of days and take day trips from there and then go to the Pacific coast. The Highlight tour we took last year from San Jose was very good: breakfast at a coffee plantation, Poas Volcano, La Paz waterfall, La Selva Verde biological station, boat tour on the Sarapiqui River. <BR>On the coast we stayed in Tamarindo (highly recommend Capitan Suizo for true pool and beach relaxation) and we also took a couple of day trips from there. One was to Rincon de la Vieja National Park (canopy tour, volcanic hot springs and mud spa), the other was a tour on our own to various neighboring beach towns. <BR>Instead Tamarindo you could also stay at Manuel Antonio where you can visit the Manuel Antonio National Park and take day trips including a canopy tour.

Grahame

The last place you want to stay is San Jose to do what you want. We stayed at a villa in Jaco Beach and did a lot of day trips to place like Maneul Antonio ,Quepos etc. If you want to spend a couple of days near San Jose suggest Athenas a coffee growing area voted by National Geographic as having the most perfect climate on earth!

Vicki

We just returned from CR on Monday and loved Vista del Valle in Alejuela (15 minutes outside of San Jose). We stayed there our last night and it's gorgeous - we even saw a wild keel-billed toucan in the tree's! We stayed at the La Mariposa in Quepos but we had dinner at Si Como No and loved the beautiful grounds - they have they're own movie theatre and great food (even for CR). We also heard the Parador and La Mansion is very nice, but pricey. Si Como No is a nice family atmosphere. We didn't have enough time to do the river rafting or canopy tour but heard great things about it - we can't wait to return to do more. We did go on the mangrove tour and would recommend it. The kids would love that the monkeys actually come into your boat to eat bananas out of your hand. The Manuel Antonio park was also great as we saw a lot of monkeys, sloths, lizards etc. (a tour guide is a must otherwise, you won't see much). Have a great time.

Wendy

Based on what you are looking for I would recommend staying at Arenal Volcano for a few days. The Tabacon hotsprings at the base of the volcano are amazing! You can also book some tours out of the area. <BR><BR>Another great area is Manuel Antonio. The park is very nice and the beach there is great. I would recommend staying close to the park. We stayed at Hotel Verde Mar. It was about $75 US per night but was very nice and in a really good location. Right on the beach and 5 minute walk from the park. The rooms had a kichenette, A/C and was very tastefully decorated. We went on the canopy tour that is booked in that area and it was a real highlight of the trip.<BR>

Wendy

Ooops, forgot to mention, although you can't fly up to Arenal, we flew everywhere else. It is relatively cheap $25-$35 per person and none of the flights are much longer than 20 minutes. It is worth it in the long run if you are on a tight schedule. Instead of taking a bus up to Arenal, we bought a ticket on an a/c minivan. Not sure how we heard about it but all the hotels know about this kind of stuff.

David

Here is a good site that will give you some lodging ideas and things to do: www.costaricabureau.com. For a transportation option try: www.fantasy.co.cr. Have fun!